Children’s books and activities

Bugs

Do you know any kids who are fascinated by “bugs” like bees, butterflies, beetles, ants, dragonflies, ladybugs, cicadas, spiders, and other arthropods? We've gathered up a great collection of books, activities, apps, and websites for learning all about your favorite bugs.

Try pairing fiction with nonfiction books and exploring different genres (like poetry and biographies) and formats (like graphic novels and audio books). You'll be creating your own "text sets" — collections of texts focused on a specific topic, such asbugs, birds, and animals. Reading widely in this way helps children build background knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension skills.

You might also want to explore our free activity kits: Bug Buddies and River Rangers.

Close-up of young girl with magnifying glass looking at cicada exoskeleton

Great Fiction & Nonfiction Books

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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A Bear, a Bee, and a Honey Tree

By:
Daniel Bernstrom
| Illustrated by: Brandon James Scott

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Addie Ant Goes on an Adventure

By:
Maren Morris
, Karina Argow
| Illustrated by: Kelly Anne Dalton

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Anansi The Spider: A Tale From the Ashanti

By:
Gerald McDermott

Age Level: 3-6 years old

photo of an ant on a leaf

Ants

By:
Mari Schuh

Age Level: 3-6 years old

cover of "Bees, Snails, and Peacock Tails" showing a peacock

Bees, Snails & Peacock Tails

By:
Betsy Franco
| Illustrated by: Steve Jenkins

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Beetle Bop

By:
Denise Fleming

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Bella Loves Bugs

By:
Jess French
| Illustrated by: Duncan Beedie

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Bompa’s Insect Expedition

By:
David Suzuki
, Tanya Lloyd Kyi
| Illustrated by: Qin Leng

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Bug Butts

By:
Dawn Cusick

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Bug City

By:
Dahlov Ipcar

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Bug Sandwich

By:
Brady Smith

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Camilla, Super Helper

By:
Julie Dillemuth
| Illustrated by: Laura Wood

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Chocolate Chirp Cookies

By:
Jenny Goebel
| Illustrated by: Angie Alape

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Cicada Symphony

By:
Sue Fliess
| Illustrated by: Gareth Lucas

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Du Iz Tak?

By:
Carson Ellis

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems

By:
Paul Janeczko
| Illustrated by: Melissa Sweet

Age Level: 3-6 years old

cover of "Flight of the Honey Bee" showing bees in flight

Flight of the Honey Bee

By:
Raymond Huber
| Illustrated by: Brian Lovelock

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Give Bees a Chance

By:
Bethany Barton

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Hustle Bustle Bugs

By:
Catherine Bailey
| Illustrated by: Lauren Eldridge

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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I Eat Poop: A Dung Beetle Story

By:
Mark Pett

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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I Love Insects

By:
Lizzy Rockwell

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Insect Detective

By:
Steve Voake
| Illustrated by: Charlotte Voake

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Insectlopedia

By:
Douglas Florian

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Sounds of the Wild: Bugs

By:
Maurice Pledger

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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The Ant and the Grasshopper

By:
Rebecca Emberley
| Illustrated by: Ed Emberley

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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The Bees of Notre-Dame

By:
Meghan Browne
| Illustrated by: E. B. Goodale

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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The Butterfly Garden

By:
Laura Weston

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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The Girl Who Loves Bugs

By:
Lily Murray
| Illustrated by: Jenny Løvlie

Age Level: 3-6 years old

illustrated cover of the Honey Maker showing a bee and flowers

The Honey Makers

By:
Gail Gibbons

Age Level: 3-6 years old

illustrated cover of "The Honeybee Man" showing a man in a bee keeper's outfit

The Honeybee Man

By:
Lela Nargi
| Illustrated by: Kyrsten Brooker

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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The Icky Bug Alphabet Book

By:
Jerry Pallotta
| Illustrated by: Ralph Masiello

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants

By:
Philip Bunting

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

By:
Simms Taback

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Waiting for Wings

By:
Lois Ehlert

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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What’s Inside a Caterpillar Cocoon?

By:
Rachel Ignotofsky

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Why Do We Need Bees?

By:
Emily Bone

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears

By:
Verna Aardema
| Illustrated by: Diane Dillon

Age Level: 3-6 years old

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Wingmaker

By:
Dave Cameron
| Illustrated by: David Huyck

Age Level: 3-6 years old

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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A Strange Place to Call Home

By:
Marilyn Singer
| Illustrated by: Ed Young

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Ace Lacewing: Bug Detective

By:
David Biedrzycki

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Ants

By:
Deborah Hodge

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Ants Rule: The Long and Short of It

By:
Bob Barner

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Begin with a Bee

By:
Liza Ketchum
, Jacqueline Briggs Martin
, Phyllis Root
| Illustrated by: Claudia McGehee

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Bug Scouts: Out in the Wild!

By:
Mike Lowery

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Busy Builders

By:
Roxie Munro

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Butterflies

By:
Seymour Simon

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Butterflies Belong Here: A Story of One Idea, Thirty Kids, and a World of Butterflies

By:
Deborah Hopkinson
| Illustrated by: Meilo So

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Buzzing with Questions: The Inquisitive Mind of Charles Henry Turner

By:
Janice N. Harrington
| Illustrated by: Theodore Taylor III

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Crawly School for Bugs: Poems to Drive You Buggy

By:
David Harrison
| Illustrated by: Julie Bayless

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Cricket in the Thicket: Poems about Bugs

By:
Carol Murray
| Illustrated by: Melissa Sweet

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Flutter and Hum: Animal Poems/Aleteo y Zumbido: Poemas de Animales

By:
Julie Paschkis

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Fly Guy Presents: Dinosaurs

By:
Tedd Arnold

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Insect: DK Eyewitness

By:
Laurence Mound

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Invented by Animals: Meet the Creatures Who Inspired Our Everyday Technology

By:
Christiane Dorion
| Illustrated by: Gosia Herba

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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It Starts with a Bee

By:
Jennie Webber

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale

By:
Carmen Agra Deedy
| Illustrated by: Michael Austin

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Mosquito Bite

By:
Alexandra Siy
, Dennis Kunkel

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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My Awesome Summer by P. Mantis

By:
Paul Meisel

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Name That Bug!

By:
Demi Jackson

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Nature All Around: Bugs

By:
Pamela Hickman
| Illustrated by: Carolyn Gavin

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Nature Did It First: Engineering Through Biomimicry

By:
Karen Ansberry
| Illustrated by: Jennifer DiRubbio

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Nature Log Kids: A Kid's Journal to Record Their Birding Experiences

By:
DeAnna Brandt

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Over and Under the Pond

By:
Kate Messner
| Illustrated by: Christopher Silas Neal

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Roberto: The Insect Architect

By:
Nina Laden

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Skeletons and Exoskeletons

By:
Julie Lundgren

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Spiders and Their Webs

By:
Darlyne Murawski

Age Level: 6-9 years old

cover of "The Bee Tree" showing young girl looking over man's shoulder. He has a jar of bees.

The Bee Tree

By:
Patricia Polacco

Age Level: 6-9 years old

cover of "The Bee-Man of Orn" showing a man moving beehives

The Bee-Man of Orn

By:
Frank Stockton
| Illustrated by: Maurice Sendak

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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The Book of Brilliant Bugs

By:
Jess French
| Illustrated by: Claire McElfatrick

Age Level: 6-9 years old

photo cover of The Buzz on Bees showing bee against blue sky

The Buzz on Bees: Why Are They Disappearing?

By:
Shelly Rotner
, Anne Woodhull

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of The Life and Times of the Honeybee showing a hive and bees

The Life and Times of the Honeybee

By:
Charles Micucci

Age Level: 6-9 years old

cover of "The Lifecycle of a Honeybee" showing a bee surrounded by some hive illustrations

The Life Cycle of a Honeybee

By:
Bobbie Kalman

Age Level: 6-9 years old

cover of "The Magic School Bus" showing a school bus that looks like a bee

The Magic School Bus: Inside a Beehive

By:
Joanna Cole
| Illustrated by: Bruce Degen

Age Level: 6-9 years old

cover of "The Queen Bee" showing a bee in a crown with a sceptre

The Queen Bee

By:
Grimm Brothers

Age Level: 6-9 years old

illustrated cover of "What if there were no bees?" showing flowers and bees

What If There Were No Bees?

By:
Suzanne Slade
| Illustrated by: Carol Schwartz

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Where Do Insects Live?

By:
Molly Aloian

Age Level: 6-9 years old

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Who Eats What? Food Chains and Food Webs

By:
Patricia Lauber
| Illustrated by: Holly Keller

Age Level: 6-9 years old

cover of "Winter Bees" showing a bee and a fox jumping in the snow

Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold

By:
Joyce Sidman
| Illustrated by: Rick Allen

Age Level: 6-9 years old

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Beastly Bionics: Rad Robots, Brilliant Biomimicry, and Incredible Inventions Inspired by Nature

By:
Jennifer Swanson

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Behold Our Magical Garden: Poems Fresh from a School Garden

By:
Allan Wolf
| Illustrated by: Daniel Duncan

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Bugged: How Insects Changed History

By:
Sarah Albee
| Illustrated by: Robert Leighton

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Bugs (A Day in the Life)

By:
Jessica Ware
| Illustrated by: Chaaya Prabhat

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery from Your Own Backyard

By:
Loree Griffin Burns
| Illustrated by: Ellen Harasimowicz

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Insect Bodies

By:
Molly Aloian

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Insect Superpowers

By:
Kate Messner
| Illustrated by: Jillian Nickell

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Insects: The Most Fun Bug Book

By:
Sneed Collard

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Leaf Litter Critters

By:
Leslie Bulion
| Illustrated by: Robert Meganck

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Let’s Eat BUGS!

By:
Judy Goldman
| Illustrated by: Ilan Rabchinsky

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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Masterpiece

By:
Elise Broach
| Illustrated by: Kelly Murphy

Age Level: 9-12 years old

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The Girl Who Drew Butterflies

By:
Joyce Sidman

Age Level: 9-12 years old